Lusting After: Nike x A.P.C. All Court

Some of you might remember this collaboration between Nike and A.P.C. from springtime last year, but these shoes are too clean not to revisit for a quick second.  The All Court model was first introduced by Nike in 1975 and served as a precursor to what would later be referred to as "cross trainers".  Before the idea of a multi sport shoe became common place within modern sneaker lexicon, this was Nike's attempted to create a shoe you could wear for all your athletic pursuits.  Apparently this shoe was perfect for A.P.C. because of its "simple, sophisticated clean lines" and fit right in with their unisex and simple brand strategy - I can't say I disagree one bit.  The All Court, to me, always seemed to be Nike's response to the Jack Purcell sneaker (purchased by Converse in the mid 70's) and one look at the rubber toe cap seems to confirm this.  Add the JP's signature "smile" to the All Court and you have a pretty much identical shoe.  This doesn't bother me at all considering how much I love tennis style and the All Court is right up there with some of my other favorite canvas shoes that get a lot of face time on Sart Inc.  These babies are hard to track down today, but they do pop up on eBay for a little under their original retail price of $150.  The collabo came in a few classic colorways, with my favorite being the red and white.  Lots of people struggle with the idea of all red kicks as they can be perceived as quite gaudy, but the red accents on this version of the All Court are perfectly understated, much like most of A.P.C.'s renowned gear.

-L.A.S

501 Reasons To Stick With A Classic: A Denim Dissertation

As far as denim goes, I'm a pretty simple guy.  I tend to skip fancy pocket embroidery and various other jean tomfoolery in favor of the simple and classic.  I'm currently breaking in a pair of APC New Standards, but before that I went mostly with J. Crew (Vintage Slim fit) and The Gap (the first incarnation of their "Japanese Denim").  Even if you've been on the fringe of all this menswear stuff, you know that selvedge denim is really the only denim anyone will endorse, which is kind of unfortunate.  Yes, this stuff is expensive....yes, this stuff will last....yes, this stuff will become "your own", but is that what everyone's looking for?

Not all male consumers are after high quality selvedge denim that, quite frankly, takes a serious commitment (at least as far as clothes are concerned).  There are a ton of guys who want a simple, ready-to-wear jean that doesn't require some of the "thinking" that comes with something like a pair of APC's.  These are the very same guys who are already conditioned to reach for racks of True Religion or Ed Hardy and obviously have much bigger problems on their hands when it comes to their denim.  Imagine telling one of these guys that he needs to "wear his jeans for up to a year without washing them so they will fit perfect and get great fades."  He'd probably look at you like you were selling snake oil.  Thankfully, this is where a brand, like Levi's, can bridge the gap.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I've never owned a pair of 501's, well, at least not until the past week when Levi's was nice enough to send a pair my way.  I won't waste your time recounting the extensive history of how Levi's invented blue jeans or what the 501 means for style today (check this out later), but just know that it's all the definition of iconic.  The 501 is the original game changer.  Regardless of all that, for someone who now rolls exclusively with selvedge denim, I had my doubts.  How would these jeans stack up to my practically personalized APC's?  I mean, just look at the price points ($155 vs. $59.50).  The proof was in the pudding, the check signed and the letter mailed.  Well, ladies and gentleman, I couldn't have been more wrong.

The Levi's 501 Original was a serious quality pair of jeans: great rise, straight, yet roomy leg, button fly, cool looking fades, no bells, no whistles.  It was...the perfect go between.  Not the stuff denim heads dream about, but extremely superior to the crap being hawked to the average guy at your neighborhood mall.  All these years later, The 501 continues to get the job done.  And that's what's I love about this jean.  It does exactly what it says it will.  Levi's offers you a classic and that's what you get.  To any guy looking to transition his denim, this is your jumping off point.  Cheers to Levi's. Cheers to The Original.  Cheers to The 501.

-L.A.S

Check out pictures of The 501's (this particular model/wash should be available come 2010)

My New Standards

[Note: While my NY/Uniqlo wrap up post sits on the shelf awaiting pics (aka while one of my +J sport shirts sits at the dry cleaners in an attempt to rid itself of the lovely smell of menthol cigarettes/sweet tea vodka/panini) I figured I'd do a post about denim...]

[Pictured: Sartorially Inclined's APC New Standard Jeans. Size 30 courtesy of French vanity sizing.]

On a slow day at work last week I dipped out early to a cool little shop right near my apartment.  Niche Market is a nifty brick and mortar boutique in Charlotte that specializes in streetwear carrying brands such as Alife, Vans, Kidrobot, etc.  Like any great streetwear boutique, they also have a pretty good selection of raw denim, which was the motivation behind my visit.  I'd had some cheap/low quality raw denim before, but after a mildly intense debate/research period I finally decided to invest in one great pair.

It doesn't take much digging to learn that APC Jeans, specifically the New Standard cut, are the jeans of the moment (currently the #1 ranked denim over at men.stlye.com's The Upgrader).  This French, minimalist take on an American classic has yielded praise from everyone online and in the industry so  I won't be the 1000th blogger to rehash all the great/unique things about them, i.e. buying 2 sizes down, never washing them, the 12 oz. raw selvedge denim, etc. 

Needless to say, I pulled the trigger and got my pair of New Standards.  I am wearing these cardboard stiff nuthuggers right now, but I can assure you that by the end of the aging process they will be one of a kind and perfect for yours truly.  This post serves as the starting point of a beautiful relationship, one that will undoubtedly last a lifetime.  I plan on posting twice more about these jeans...once more in 6 months and then again in a year to document the full aging/wearing process.  Stay tuned as I embrace my new, much higher, standards...

-L.A.S

[My own private selvedge yard.]

[APC x Jack Purcell.]

[APC x Jack Purcell II.]